Field of Technology
The present description generally relates to operating systems and, more particularly, to multi-user accounts in operating systems with access restrictions.
Background
Android™ is a software stack for mobile devices based on the Linux™ platform, and currently is developed by Google, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. Although Linux™ supports multiple users, Android™ is designed to be a single user platform. In this regard, the Android™ system effectively disables the multi-user aspect of the Linux™ kernel by assigning unique user identifiers (UIDs) to each Android™ application. In particular, when an Android™ application reads or writes data, the application only can access the data with its unique UID. Thus, such an application can only read or modify data that the application itself creates. This feature is necessary to prevent potentially unscrupulous applications from accessing sensitive information generated by other applications.